The 5002 Club is back! This is the fourth year of the summer/fall program for our youth. In the first 3 years, we had 11, 13, and 15 kids participate respectively. You can download the 2014 5002 Club schedule and information here. Check out the members from 2013 being introduced at the first varsity dual.

Five ZM wrestlers participated in the MN/USA State Greco-Roman and Freestyle Tournament this past weekend. Caden Steffen of Zumbrota placed 1st in both styles and won the triple crown award for winning 3 state titles. He previously won the MN/USA Folkstyle title. Also placing were Ryan Lexvold (2nd/3rd) and Michael Majerus (4th/4th). Also competing were Luke Tupper and Hayden Stensland.

Four open mats will be held in the Mazeppa wrestling room starting this Sunday as an opportunity to prepare for upcoming camps and stay in touch with wrestling. This is not mandatory and is open to all wrestlers K-12. If you are bringing a younger wrestler, be sure they have a partner before coming. There will be some conditioning, live wrestling, and technique involved in these sessions. Chase Steffen will be supervising.

Reminder:
Saturday, May 24th & 31st. The wrestlers will be getting together and doing some distance running and sprints in preparation for the ZM and Cobber camps. All 7-12 wrestlers are welcome to attend. Time TBD by the captains that is least intrusive for most upperclassmen.

Please let Link know by May 16th at 2:00PM if your wrestler is attending Concordia wrestling camp June 8th-12th. See the previous post for more details.

Signed up so far:

Noah Prodzinski

Sam Nordquist

Caden Steffen

Fletcher Bengtson

Seth Tupper

Luke Tuper

Hayden Voxland

Michael Vath

Garrett Huneke

Jacob Bennett

Jarret Haglund

Connor Hegseth

Freedom Hunt

Hayden Stensland

Joey Majerus

Michael Majerus

Maverick Jackson

Link

Would your child benefit from a wrestling camp? And how might you choose the right one for them to attend? Those are two big questions many parents are pondering this time of year. Read The Lowdown on Wrestling Camps.

One problem wrestlers face in scoring is that they often attack the opponent’s legs by going to their knees. The snatch single is a safe and effective way to attack an opponent while minimizing risks of counter attacks. Watch the video here.

We currently have 2, perhaps 3 wrestlers attending a wrestling/activity camp July 19-22, and they are looking for some of their fellow wrestling teammates to join them. The grades of the ZM boys looking to attend are 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. The camp offers a good mixture of wrestling and outdoor activities. Some of the activities include canoeing/kayaking, archery, team building, hiking, fishing, and bowling.

Last year ZM had 6 wrestlers attend the camp and the boys had a blast. The camp offers very good one-on-one help in the wrestling room as well as good supervision during the outdoor activities. The 6 ZM boys were among a group of 25 or so. The camp is held at a state park so many of the outdoor activities are run by the Iowa DNR staff. Last year all the ZM kids got to stay in the same room. So if we can get enough wrestlers going, we will see if they can accommodate us in the same manner.

Please e-mail me (chris.lexvold@gmail.com) if you are interested in having your wrestler attend. I will get you in touch with the parents of the wrestlers that are currently attending so you can coordinate rides and exchange other details.

Grades: 7-12 (2014-2015 school year). This year’s 6th graders are welcome but it’s tough! Be sure they are ready!

Cost is $210 per individual wrestler after Booster Club grant and discounts. If your family has more than 1 wrestler, it is $185 each.

Remember, your Kwik Trip card money can be applied to this camp! I know some ZM wrestlers will attend this camp for free! If you have questions about the Kwik Trip Cards please email Brian Majerus (Mazeppa) at: majerus.brian@mayo.edu or Dan Bennett (Zumbrota) at: danbzta@gmail.com.

By Thursday, May 22nd, please have your checks sent to: Link Steffen, 353 East 9th Street, Zumbrota MN 55992. Make checks payable to ‘ZM Wrestling’ (ZM Booster Club will write one large check to Cobber’s Camps since it’s much easier for Concordia to handle one check.) If you are paying using your Kwik Trip account money, please send a note with your check stating how much KT money you will be applying towards the camp and subtract this amount from your check. If you are paying in full with KT money, send Link Steffen an e-mail stating you are paying in full with KT money.

If money is an issue and may prevent your child from attending this camp, contact Link at link.steffen@state.mn.us. In confidentiality, we will work out a solution to this problem. Every kid deserves the same opportunities.

Extra info:

-We will set up rides/times/drivers the week of May 26th (after all the above info is completed)
-We will start having open mats the week of May 19th. I will have a schedule ready before the 19th-If your son is wrestling at the ZM camp or Concordia Moorhead, I strongly suggest they get in ‘open mat’ time to be prepared physically
-What a great experience and opportunity at an affordable price for our ZM wrestlers (both ZM and Concordia camps!)
-Be sure to check out the camp clinicians on the brochure and their daily schedules! It’s truly a GREAT CAMP!
-This is a grueling camp and physical and mental toughness is part of it. We don’t need to baby our younger wrestlers and hold them out of every tough camp/drill/etc., as the upperclassmen will take care of them. But please understand that we do not want a 6th grader having a bad experience and pushed too much when they are not ready. Use good judgment as nobody knows your kid better than you!